Monday, September 19, 2011

My New Fan Campaign (Football, Not Comics)

For those of you who may not know, I'm actually something of a fan of football. Not rabidly so--this weekend's football did not, for example, take priority over a trip to the zoo with my sisters and our kids--but I do enjoy the game. And even though I'm a Minnesotan and hence a Vikings fan, I appreciate good football no matter who plays it. (Unless they're the Cowboys, but thankfully I haven't had to worry about them playing good football in a while.)

And as a result, I've been paying more than a little attention this year to the Indianapolis Colts. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the team, they have had a long run of dominance in their division and frequent trips deep into the playoffs (and a Superbowl win.) But this year, quarterback Peyton Manning, after a long streak of consecutive appearances that threatened to someday eclipse Brett Favre's record, suffered a neck injury and has not been able to play. In his first two games out since his rookie start, the Colts have suffered humiliatingly large losses to the Houston Texans (who they used to regularly dominate) and the Cleveland Browns (a perennial cellar-dweller team.) Replacement QB Kerry Collins has looked utterly overmatched.

Which is why I'm proposing a fan campaign to nominate Peyton Manning as this year's NFL MVP.

Think about it. The Most Valuable Player is the player that makes the most difference to the team, and clearly, this year Peyton Manning is demonstrating that he is the one thing that stands between year after year of double-digit wins and playoff appearances...and losses to the Texans and Browns. Who better to be the MVP of the league?

Next week, the Colts are playing the Steelers. Tune in for the next chapter in the saga of Peyton Manning, future MVP!

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Nice idea, and one that I can kinda get behind, but unless Manning comes back and plays a majority of the games this year for the Colts and is successful doing so, it ain't gonna happen.

John Seavey said...

But that's the point--the fewer games he plays, the more he demonstrates his value! If the Colts go 1-15, and the one game they win is the one game he starts, then clearly he is the sole factor causing them to be victorious. Can't get more valuable than that!

Unknown said...

Alas, for the voters of the MVP, that's not going to work out. Who cares if you were the best player on a 1-15 team? Rogers or Brady or someone else on a playoff team will get the MVP.

No, what you want is for the Colts to go, say, 0-5 or 0-6, then have Manning come back and win all the rest of their games and make the playoffs. THAT might get the job done.